PC keeps rebooting when trying to start XP

[tattsyrup]

Hi.

 

When starting my PC it goes through all the memory tests and finds all the drives etc and does the DMI updating. It then goes to the "windows" screen briefly before flashing up the blue screen of death (too quickly to read) and rebooting.

 

I've disconnected all the hardware except RAM and graphics card (which I've taken out and refitted) and have tried both the RAM cards individually in case one was fried. I've also tried a different HDD with a working version of XP installed (I know it works I'm using it now) but with the same result.

 

Please can anyone suggest anything

[Plastic Nev]

Hi and welcome back,

Can you get into safe mode? Tap or sometimes just hold down F8 as soon as the start button is pressed, once there it should open a page of choices, using the up and down keys select "do not restart after system failure", or words to that effect, click the enter key, the blue screen should then stay there so you can copy down and tell us what is on it.

Nev.

[tattsyrup]

Hi,

 

the blue screen says

 

UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME

 

The rest looks pretty standard apart from the tchnical info at the bottom which is

 

Stop : 0x000000ED (ox8AC42E30, 0xc0000006, 0x00000000, 0x00000000

 

Cheers

[RandyL]

Sorry for butting in Nev.

Swapping a drive with XP already installed is almost always not going to work or boot. It's trying to boot to the hardware configuration of the machine it was installed on which won't match your computer.

 

I'm guessing your boot sector needs repaired which means you will probably need the installation disk. This Microsoft article has some possible causes and fixes. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/297185

[Plastic Nev]

Thats OK Randy, more or less what I would answer with anyway.

There are a few possible causes now, one is the operating system is badly corrupted, the second is a duff hard drive, and though you may have done so any way, check all connections for the hard drive, both at the drive and the motherboard, Pull them off, check the pins are OK and replace, just might be a poor connection.

As Randy pointed out, the working hard drive with XP on it would only work if the two computers were identical in every way.

When Windows first opens, it checks its environment against what is recorded, if it sees a new environment such as different motherboard, it will refuse to go further. All part of Microsofts attempts to prevent pirate copying, or use against their license conditions.

However we can check whether the hard drive is at least readable, this will need an adapter. As yet we don't know which type, is it IDE or SATA? whichever it is you will need an adapter to go from that to USB, then plug it into the working computer, that computer should see the drive and be able to access all files, documents, or other data on it if it is OK.

Providing the hard drive is OK, and it is just a corrupt operating system, you will need at the least a recovery disk, do you have one for that computer?

Nev.